Kirk Herbstreit hasn’t been able to taste or smell since contracting COVID in December

Dustin Foote|published: Tue 1st June, 13:58 2021

Kirk Herbstreit revealed on Twitter that he hasn’t had a sense of taste or smell since having COVID in December. source: Getty Images

We’re well over a year into this thing. Thankfully, cases and deaths in the country are plummeting and vaccination rates are rising. Many Americans are now flying, attending sporting events, and getting back to some sort of “normal” that existed before the pandemic. For others, the effects of infection have lasted for months and have created a shitty “new normal” for people like ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit.

This morning, the college football analyst took to Twitter to share his experience of losing his taste and smell… for five months and counting. He also asked if anyone else had the same experience.

“Been 5 months since I tested positive for Covid. Still can’t taste or smell. Anyone else experience this?? Did it ever come back??” He wrote. “Haven’t tasted a meal since late December. After 5 months...is this my new normal or will taste and smell come back???”

When Herbstreit tested positive in late December, it seemed like he came down with a mild case. Shortly after his infection, he announced that he felt “good” and would work and call games remotely from home. He did. But the symptoms have now lingered for over five months. And he’s understandably looking for answers.

As many as 70 to 80 percent of people who contract COVID lose their taste and smell. Those symptoms are especially common among those who contract a mild infection. But a majority of folks who lose their taste and smell regain their senses in a few days. Others, like Herbstreit, can have symptoms for months, even years.

So if you needed another reason to go get vaccinated to protect yourself and others around you, well, here’s another one. You can even take a shot while attending a game.

Again, it’s been 15 months now since the COVID-19 shutdown of March 2020, and many more pandemic-related questions have yet to be answered. But here’s to hoping that Herbstreit and other long-haulers who have lost their sense of taste and smell (or worse), can get back to normal too, somehow.